DLC
Did three letters (aside from something as obvious as SEX) ever hold so much promise?
Why then have publishers turned it into something that is almost reviled among anyone with a brain? Don't the developers realize just how much people hate being nickel and dimed to death? No, they don't? Apparently not.
With a few exceptions (and I'll get to them shortly) DLC is no longer holding up to what it could be, what it should be, and it's all about the almighty dollar. So many companies today are selling you product that they have already sold you, while others are selling you what SHOULD have been included with your original purchase, and it absolutely kills me to see how many people buy these things.
When I initially heard about the idea of DLC for games, I was actually pretty stoked. I was playing a lot of wrestling games and I could imagine how many more storylines could be so easily added to existing games to make them more valuable for a longer time. Of course, I'm thinking like a gamer, and not like a finance major.
DLC basically represents what you should have gotten with your initial purchase, but that the developers know you will pay to add. Everything from characters and color palettes for fighting games to unlocking content that is already on the disc you've purchased, is available for DLC, for a price of course.
The exceptions to this rule (the Shadowbroker mission for Mass Effect 2 jumps immediately to mind) are the ones that are starting to stand out, because they actually ARE using DLC for what it was intended: a way to make good games better and some games great. Valve is notorious for offering free DLC for their games - when others charge for the same thing - whereas Capcom wants to make me pay for characters in the Street Fighter X Tekken game that should have been included.
At the end of the day, I think DLC will get to where I was hoping it would be initially - but I think we're in for a long painful wait - and as long as some of the customers perpetuate the behavior by purchasing the content, it'll be even longer.
